The Georgia Baptist College of Nursing announced April 14 that it has named Laura P. Kimble, Ph.D., R.N., currently an associate professor of nursing at Georgia State University, as the College’s inaugural Piedmont Healthcare Endowed Chair in Nursing, effective July 1. The appointment follows an extensive national search for an outstanding academic scholar who will have a vital role in advancing the new Ph.D. in nursing, which begins this fall.
Dr. Laura Kimble
“We are honored to have Dr. Kimble accept our offer to be the inaugural holder of the Piedmont Healthcare Endowed Chair for Nursing,” said Dr. Susan S. Gunby, dean of the College of Nursing. “Dr. Kimble has a distinguished record of sustained scholarly accomplishments, and she is committed to making positive contributions to the College of Nursing and Mercer University.”
As part of the new 12-month faculty position, Dr. Kimble will be an integral part of advancing doctoral level education at the College of Nursing. She will also augment research initiatives of the College and the University, engage in teaching and conduct and facilitate research leading to increased grant funding at the College.
“It is a great honor to hold the first Piedmont Healthcare Endowed Chair in Nursing,” Dr. Kimble said. “It’s a really important step for the College because it means there is a commitment to increasing research within the University and establishing a strong foundation for the Ph.D. program. The new doctoral program is a part of the College’s and Piedmont's commitment to address the state’s nursing faculty shortage. Having qualified nursing faculty is essential to addressing nursing shortages within the state. I am proud to be a part of this effort.”
Dr. Kimble is an award-winning teacher and accomplished scholar. She has served as an associate professor at the Byrdine F. Lewis School of Nursing at Georgia State University since 2004. Previously, she was an associate research professor and interim Ph.D. program coordinator at Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. In 2004, she won Emory’s Teacher/Scholar Award, a university-wide teaching award. In addition to several positions as a practicing nurse, Dr. Kimble has also held academic appointments at the University of Rochester and Indiana Wesleyan University.
Dr. Kimble’s research focuses on women with coronary heart disease — specifically how chronic angina influences the daily life and physical functioning in women and men and whether gender-specific interventions to assist angina patients are warranted. Her research has been funded by the American Heart Association, the National Institute of Nursing Research and the National Institutes of Health. Along with her research interest in women with heart disease, she also has strong expertise in statistics.
Dr. Kimble is the author or co-author of multiple research-based articles and abstracts focused on health outcomes in patients with coronary heart disease. She also serves as a reviewer for a number of peer-reviewed journals. In 2003, she won the Research Article of the Year, presented by the Council on Cardiovascular Nursing of the American Heart Association. She was named a fellow in 2003 by the Fuld/American Association of Colleges of Nursing Leadership for Academic Nursing, and in 2001 as a fellow of the American Heart Association. Dr. Kimble currently serves on the grants review committee of the Southern Nursing Research Society.
Dr. Kimble earned her Ph.D. in nursing at the University of Rochester, in Rochester, N.Y., a Master of Science in adult nursing from the University of Kentucky and a Bachelor of Science in nursing from Berea College in Berea, Ky. She completed a post-master’s program as an acute care nurse practitioner at the University of Rochester School of Nursing and a post-master’s program as a family nurse practitioner at the Emory University School of Nursing. Dr. Kimble is currently certified as a family nurse practitioner by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.
